


a whisper into the night

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Dragon & Bunny [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Build
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dragon Hybrids, Hybrids, Introspection, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 16:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12303210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Ryuga is a dragon, and Sento is a rabbit, and maybe one of the only people who finds him more fascinating than frightening.





	a whisper into the night

The first night that Ryuga officially sleeps over at Nascita is a restless one for him. He isn’t used to being caged in like this, and the space feels smaller than it is, smaller than it has any right to. He gnashes his teeth and tells himself to deal with it for now.

Sento stays up later than he does, darting back and forth between his table and his blackboard, pulling aside his clear board when he needs more room to work. Out of curiosity, Ryuga watches him a few times. Mostly, he watches the way Sento’s ears twitch and perk, and he scents the air and admits to himself that Sento smells better than he has any right to. Of course, prey animals are bound to smell good to a predator like him.

The thought makes him twist his lips; being a predator had more or less gotten him into this position. “I’m going to bed. You should probably go to bed soon, too.”

“I will, I will.” Sento flaps a hand at him, and Ryuga thinks he’s dealt with this before.

“You won’t,” he says, and Sento scowls up at him. “G’night, bunny boy. Have fun with… That.”

Sento’s scowl deepens impressively. “Just try not to light the place on fire in your sleep.”

Ryuga barks laughter and Sento jumps about a foot out of his chair. It would be amusing if Ryuga did not have the nagging thought in the back of his head that  _ of course he’s afraid— _

The bed is warm and comfortable beneath him, a testament to how long he has been without even the smallest of available comforts in the world. His wing muscles, sore and tired from a long, long day, nearly melt as he settles down against the sheets and closes his eyes.

He leaves the blanket neatly folded at the foot of the bed and rolls over onto his side, folding his wing easily around himself, the warm orange interior easily able to insulate him. His own naturally high body heat keeps him more than warm, even in low winter temperatures, which had been his only comfort once. Mostly, they drew too much attention when he was in public and made people do double takes before ducking their heads and hurrying in the opposite direction or, worst case scenario, try to capture pictures of him to show people later.

Ryuga knows dragon hybrids are rare these days. Ever since the incident with the Sky Wall, and even years stretching back before that, his kind have been rare. Their numbers only ever seem to dwindle and even though humans swear up and down they have no idea why this would be, it isn’t hard for Ryuga to pick out celebrities and their suddenly new, extravagant leather clothing.

The thought is disturbing, and he tries to shake it as quickly as he can.

Dragon hybrids being so rare is probably what made it so easy for people to attach horrible stereotypes to them. Predatory creatures who are a danger to other hybrids, especially those who are prey. Violent and dangerous, not safe to spend time with, not worth trusting, better to just ignore them as often as possible and definitely never let them too close. Kasumi had been one of the only people willing to trust him, one of the only people who would stand by his side when others flinched away in horror, and he isn’t sure he can ever show his face to her again.

Ryuga dozes when he feels jostling on the bed behind him, heaving an irritated sigh and peeking out from beneath the cover of his wing to see Sento sitting there and staring at him. “What are you doing? I told you I was trying to go to sleep.”

“I need to sleep, too, and this is my bed anyway.” Sento pushes at his shoulder and Ryuga hisses at him. “Oh for the love of… That doesn’t scare me. Now scoot over.”

The words make Ryuga blink a few times before another firm shove to his shoulder makes him scoot back on the mattress, giving Sento enough room to lay down next to him. This close, it’s impossible to ignore how nice Sento smells, and Ryuga doesn’t hide the fact he even leans in a little to get a proper whiff. Of course, that only gets him a prompt flick to the nose.

“You really aren’t scared of me,” he mutters, rubbing the sore bit of skin.

“Should I be? I don’t care what you  _ are, _ you know. You’re just… You’re just a hybrid like I am. Just a different kind.” Sento eyes wander over the wing Ryuga still has half-folded over his body before he stretches out a hand toward him. “I’m fascinated. I’ve never seen anyone like—”

Ryuga smacks his hand in retaliation for his nose and Sento promptly pouts at him. “You don’t go grabbing people’s wings without asking. I’m not a specimen for you to examine.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I just got ahead of myself. Dragons… You really are a rarity, you know?” Sento waits with his hand still raised and Ryuga finally sighs and nods, stretching his wing out toward him more. “I’m… Disgusted, to be honest, that they framed you for murder. But of course I’m sure it was believed without question. Predator hybrids are always treated horribly.”

To this, Ryuga has no reply. Sento is correct, of course. Hybrids in general were never treated all that well before the Sky Wall came to be, and he can hardly remember any humans looking at him as anything more than a creature to be feared for being different. It had made fighting easy. People already expected him to be violent, and it was an easy thing to cash in on.

Sento’s fingers are gentle as they play over his scales, trace the line of his bones beneath his skin. “Blue and orange is also interesting. It’s not a very common color pattern.”

When he seems to be finished with his exploration of the outer turquoise of Ryuga’s wing, Ryuga indulges him by stretching his wing so Sento can touch the softer orange membrane. Very few people have ever been this interested in touching him from the get-go, and though Sento might be a scientist studying him, Ryuga still feels more comfortable with this than he has with most people in his life who were capable of touching him at all.

“Oh, it’s very warm here.” Sento splays his hand across the membrane. “That’s intriguing.”

“Insulation,” he says, and to make his point, stretches his wing across his own body to let it hover above Sento’s, let him feel the heat radiating there. “I can keep myself warm like this, which is why I don’t need your blanket. I can keep warm in even the lowest temperatures Japan gets. I’ll bet you can’t really say the same, can you, little bunny?”

Sento smacks his wing away for that, which is fair, before he reaches for the blanket Ryuga had left at the foot of the bed. “Stop that. And on that front, you are correct. I can handle colder temperatures as long as it’s not too wet or windy, but I still need blankets to help keep myself warm. Usually, families huddle together during the winter months. It helps, I’ve heard.”

Heard, but not experienced from the tone of his voice. Or maybe the memory of his family has been ripped away with everything else, leaving him with only what he’s read about and heard about as opposed to actual experiences. Even then, he might not have hybrid parents. He might have been taken from his family at a young age. Ryuga knows better than most how often that happens. He was at least lucky enough his parents chose to raise him instead of abandoning him.

The thought is sobering. He was born from recessive genetics, not because either of his parents was a hybrid, which happens often enough in a world where at least a good chunk of the human population if not the majority have no problems with hybrids. He has good memories of his family. Sento might not have any memories of a family at all to lean on.

“Come here.” Ryuga loops an arm around Sento’s waist and waits to see Sento’s reaction before pulling him closer. When Sento doesn’t smack him away, he chances it, stretching his wing over Sento again. “I can keep you warm tonight. I’ve got plenty of body heat to spare.”

Sento looks as though he is internally wrestling with the thought before he finally nods, stretching up a hand that he doesn’t seem to know what to do with. When it finally comes to rest somewhere, he has it cupped over Ryuga’s chest, right over where his heart beats. “I would have known you were athletic from this alone. Your heart beats very slowly but very strong.”

“Smart boy,” Ryuga praises, and the way Sento’s eyes widen up at him makes him smile despite himself. Oh, he had quickly noticed Sento’s wheedling for praise when he had observed the man speaking to Soichi and Misora Isurugi this evening. Ryuga isn’t smart, but he isn’t stupid either. “You don’t have to be stand-offish. I know rabbit hybrids like to cuddle.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Sento says before promptly shoving himself against Ryuga’s chest.

Ryuga barely resists the urge to tease him about this and instead curls his arms around Sento, letting him snuggle in as close as he wants, fingers curling around the back of Ryuga’s neck as he nuzzles into his chest. His ears tickle Ryuga’s nose for just a moment before they settle back.

“Am I allowed to touch your ears?” Ryuga asks, huffing when Sento tucks his head onto his shoulder, dragging his chin across his shirt as he does. “Hey, don’t do that.”

“Have to do that,” Sento counters, and Ryuga manages to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “And yes. But be gentle, they aren’t like my arms, you can’t just grab them and pull.”

Not that Ryuga was going to pull on them, but Sento’s permission gives him the courage to stretch his hand up and stroke those soft, silky ears. Sento has bags under his eyes that would suggest he hardly takes care of himself, hardly sleeps, but he must take care of his ears.

“That’s nice,” Sento murmurs against his ear, and Ryuga grins to himself, letting his fingers brush through Sento’s fur. “Keep doing that, just like that.”

The slow, repetitive and pleasurable motion is enough for Sento to fall asleep to. He’s out in minutes, arms loosely curled around Ryuga’s shoulders, cheek pressed to his, breathing soft and slow in his ear. Only then does Ryuga stop petting him, settling his arms around Sento’s slender back, tucking his wing more securely around him. It might just be that Sento is a rabbit, a hybrid much more prone to being attacked and terrorized if only because fear has serious ramifications on their health, and that combined with the knowledge Sento was brave enough to take him in despite the murder accusation that makes Ryuga feel oddly protective of him.

Which is stupid, because he hardly knows Sento. Hasn’t known him for even twenty-four hours.

_ Instinct, _ he thinks, and then remembers the way Sento had rubbed his chin against Ryuga’s chest in a very clear manner.  _ That’s all this is, dimwit. Instinct. Nothing more than that. _

Instinct doesn’t explain away the way he skims his hand up and down Sento’s back in slow, soothing motions even though Sento is already asleep, or the way Ryuga makes sure to tuck his wing extra tight against Sento just in case. It doesn’t explain away the press of his fingers against Sento’s chest, taking in the rhythm of the measured beats of his heart. It doesn’t explain away the way Sento sighs against his ear when he pulls him in even closer.

The two of them are in this together, and Ryuga has always been stronger than he is smarter. Maybe he can assist Sento’s intelligence by being the brute force who keeps him safe.

And somehow, that thought is enough to settle him enough to fall asleep.


End file.
